John Sumser Joins Recruiting.com as Executive Editor

SEATTLE – April 6, 2007 — Jobster, Inc. today announced John Sumser was named executive editor at Recruiting.com -- the leading user-generated recruiting content site on the web. Recruiting.com was acquired by Jobster in 2006. Sumser, who takes over for departing founder/editor Jason Davis, has already assumed some of the executive editor’s duties and will be working closely with Davis to transition all duties over the next three weeks.

“John Sumser is widely recognized as a thoughtful and opinionated leader in the recruiting industry. John has been an important voice for industry change and I’m thrilled to welcome him to team Jobster. Adding John’s voice and vision to recruiting.com will further execute on Jason Davis’s original mission for recruiting.com as the leading recruiting community portal on the web. The recruiting community is lucky to have John Sumser guiding this ship forward. I’m confident it is going to be a fun and enjoyable ride.” said Jobster CEO, Jason Goldberg. “While we say hello to John, we say a goodbye to Jason Davis. Jason has been instrumental in building recruiting.com into what it is today and we will miss him.”

Sumser’s first posting as executive editor of Recruiting.com follows, in his own words:

New Order

(April 6, 2007) As you may have heard, I am going to serve as the Executive Editor at Recruiting.com following Jason Davis’ departure at the end of the month. Jason, entrepreneur that he is, is headed off to make more money. I will attempt to make a small contribution in his absence.

Davis has made an interesting and long lasting impact on the Recruiting world. When I talked with him yesterday, he told me that his goal for Recruiting.com had been to “make it entertaining.” I don’t think that anyone before him had ever even considered the possibility that our industry could be entertaining. We mostly hoped that no one would decide to make the “Office Space” of Recruiting. I’m afraid we (the industry, that is) wouldn’t fare well under that sort of scrutiny. For all of the real strategic value that emerges from our collective work, there’s a smarmy exterior that doesn’t pass the video test.

Jason Davis is a fine human being. I was telling an old friend that he is “like the leprechaun at the end of the rainbow.” He’s charming, funny, a natural networker and somehow, he just makes lots of money. He’s kind and generous and has said an awful lot of nice things about me over the past couple of years. I’ll miss his contributions.

Thanks, JD.

There’s another Jason in this puzzle.

I’ve known Jason Goldberg for about two years, now. I’ve grown fond of him and am constantly surprised by his energy and passion. He’s a quick study. He and his company are doing a huge number of things that no one else in the industry is willing or able to do. Jobster, under Goldberg’s guidance, is redefining the online job hunting process for a new generation of workers who will not be working the way their parents did. Not content to simply scrape, collect and sort the job postings of others, Jobster is introducing and experimenting with technologies that are capable of making a real difference.

Figuring out how to straddle the needs of a commercial enterprise with practical R&D is something that I understand. In a prior lifetime, I ran software development and Research & Development operations for 15 years in the Electronics Industry. Peering over the horizon’s edge while managing customer adoption is no simple chore. It’s an appropriate and useful place for large investments of venture capital. The money frees the enterprise to take business risks that would be unbearable in a conventionally financed operation. With increased ability to take risks comes the increased certainty of mistake making. That’s how R&D works.

There are a number of famous stories about Thomas Edison and R&D. In the history of the evolution of the light bulb, he’s been said to have tried and created thousands of potential materials for the light bulb filament. Each was a failure until he stumbled on the carbon version. In the meantime, investors grew weary and the public made fun. That’s how R&D goes.

It’s been a challenge getting used to having Jason in the industry. For over a decade, I held sole ownership of the “over the top in the Recruiting Industry” annual award. Once Jason opened up the competition, it was as if the flood gates had been raised. These days, Goldberg is mild when compared to the antics of his critics.

So where does that leave me?

Jason Goldberg has been generous enough to continue his investment in Recruiting.com. It’s not likely to ever be a central component of the company’s product line. Rather, it’s Jobster’s endowment to the Recruiting community. Goldberg is being vastly more generous with his resources than any of his competitors. He believes in the industry and demonstrates by operating Recruiting.com at arm’s length while financing a part time Executive Editor.

While Jason Davis retains the helm, I’m going to be learning the infrastructure and listening. Because the form of the site won’t change when Jason leaves, things will look much the same on the surface. I’ll be listening even harder.

I’m going to gather an advisory board and will keep you posted as I add people to the mix. I’m going to ask each member of that group to watch the website and offer detailed suggestions about direction and improvement. I’m going to ask each of them to contribute an original article about Recruiting (that doesn’t promote their business) each month.

Then, I’m going to listen some more.

I won’t be quitting my day job. I’ve been writing for interbiznet since I founded it in 1994. I’ll continue to write a column each day as usual.

For the most part, I have more questions than answers right now. I am excited about the opportunity and am grateful to both Jasons for the opportunity. I think it’s going to be fun and hope you’ll enjoy it, too.

About John Sumser
John Sumser, 53, is the preeminent analyst of the online Recruiting industry. Founder of interbiznet and editor of the Electronic Recruiting News, Sumser has been shaping the industry with his daily columns for a dozen years. Sumser speaks and consults in five areas: workforce demographics, job hunter user experience, recruiting as a conversation, recruiting trends and recruiting industry strategy. He is the author of the Recruiter’s Internet Survival Guide, the Electronic Recruiting Indices, and countless white papers. A regular on the industry speaking circuit, he claims to have never given the same talk twice.

About Jobster
Founded in 2004, Jobster is the online career center for the digital generation. Millions of individuals use Jobster to connect with people, information, and opportunities to further their careers. The Jobster Career Center can also be found on Facebook, the leading website for 18-24 year olds. More than 15 percent of Fortune 100 employers use Jobster’s premium recruiting tools to find the great people they cannot find elsewhere. Jobster is backed by industry-leading investors Ignition Partners, Trinity Ventures, Mayfield Fund and Reed Elsevier Ventures. For more information, visit www.jobster.com.

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Copyright Jobster, Inc. 2007. Jobster is a service mark of Jobster, Inc. and may not be used without express written consent of Jobster, Inc.

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Jobster, Inc.

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